KEENE, N.H. 09/15/04 - The Keene State College women's volleyball team suffered its first loss of the season after being swept 3-0 by Amherst College on Wednesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Keene State, which has lost to Amherst in its last eight meetings, falls to 1-1. Amherst (5-0) posted its fifth straight victory.

The Owls dropped the first two games 30-23 and 30-15. KSC rallied in the third match, but couldn't come up with a win against the Jeffs. The final game score was 30-26. Junior middle hitter Shelly Ellis (Hampton, N.H.) led KSC with 10 kills, eight digs, and two blocks. Freshman setter Kelly Yankowski (Turners Falls, Mass.) added 23 assists, seven digs, and three kills, while junior libero Kristen Brosius (Plymouth, N.H.) finished with 16 digs and four assists.

Senior setter Annie Hoeksma (Los Angeles, CA) dished out 35 assists to lead Amherst's offense. Sophomore Kristin Quinn (Los Angeles, CA) finished with 13 kills, while freshman Jaclyn DeMais (Hillsdale, N.J.) had eight.

Keene State travels to the University of Southern Maine for the Little East Round-Robin on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (10 a.m./12:30 p.m.). The Owls open the Round-Robin against Southern Maine on Friday.